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Time Well Spent: Balancing Family Life and Entrepreneurship
With the end of summer in sight and the back-to-school excitement, busy parents everywhere are juggling schedules, school lunches, and the desire to provide the best for their children. Adrian and Michone Reese know this hustle and bustle all too well. They are Dallas residents and proud parents to Noah (9) and Levi (5).
Flexibility is a valuable, yet scarce, resource for working parents and on days like the first day of school, something the Reeses are incredibly grateful for. Married for ten years and thriving in their Amway business for seven, Adrian and Michone attribute their ability to balance family life and their business to the flexibility provided by the Amway model.
Amway Independent Business Owners (IBOs) have practiced the art of multiple priorities in their business, and for many people their quality time with family is a driving factor that motivates their hard work. Adrian, once a personal trainer and now working full time in ministry, and Michone, a real estate agent, discovered a path that aligned with their vision and values, enabling them to create a life that prioritizes family while pursuing their personal and professional ambition. For this dynamic duo, the journey of business ownership through Amway has impacted not just their careers, but their entire family life.
“I remember feeling frustrated in our jobs,” Adrian recalls. “It looked like we were succeeding, but we wanted more.” That desire led them to Amway, a business that allows them to work at their own pace. This drive has turned their entrepreneurial aims into reality, allowing them to achieve meaningful milestones in developing their Amway business.
The flexibility that comes with building an Amway business has allowed Adrian and Michone to prioritize their family. “We don’t just work around our kids; we work with them,” Adrian says. Whether it’s bringing them to events or teaching them about entrepreneurship, they ensure that their children are part of the journey. Michone fondly recalls an event where Noah helped set up a product showcase, learning valuable lessons about teamwork and responsibility.
Adrian and Michone have built strong relationships through their Amway network as well. “We didn’t expect so much to come from sharing an Amway business,” Adrian reflects. They focus on building real relationships with genuine connection, resulting in a community around them where everyone helps each other out.
Both Adrian and Michone are also deeply involved in their local church, where they organize community events and outreach programs. “We see our work in Amway as another way to give back,” Michone shares. Driven by their values, they have launched initiatives through their ministry that support families in need, reflecting their commitment to helping others.
While the Reeses are in the midst of raising their children, longtime IBO Betty Ajamian offers her perspective on how the Amway business has shaped her and her family’s lives. Betty joined Amway in 1977 and raised her three sons while building her business. A shy secretary in New York City at the time, she discovered Amway’s positive environment and frameworks that not only helped her grow as an entrepreneur but also, unexpectedly, gave her certain tools that she could use in parenting. She had been immersing herself in programs like Positive Personality Profile and DiSC for her business, when she figured out, she could also use the learnings to understand her children better and encourage their unique strengths. However, like the Reeses, the most important part for Betty was the flexibility Amway provided which allowed her to run her business while spending time with her children.
“Helping people through Amway taught me how to come out of myself,” Betty reflects.
Betty’s future career ventures were also inspired by her Amway business. Not only did she develop a passion for beauty and skincare when she began selling ArtistryTM products, she went on to become a licensed esthetician and then developed a successful weekend wedding business, providing high-quality cosmetic services to bridal party clients. Today, Betty works as a beauty consultant for a large retail location in New Jersey. For her, success wasn’t only about how many businesses she created but what the journey taught her – the lessons of resilience and determination that Betty carried into her family life.
Adrian, Michone, and Betty are not alone as millions of Americans work hard to create opportunities for their families to thrive. From raising children to building community, the flexibility and skills learned through building the Amway business empower parents to navigate challenges with determination and optimism. The time together spent building something creates opportunities, memories, and legacies that endure into the future.